By It’s been over 20 years since the original God of War was released in March 2005, and to celebrate, Sony added a bunch of stuff to God of War Ragnarok, as well as hosting panels with the developers of the series and actors comprised of both the new era’s main cast and the original series’ Kratos and Athena actors, T.C. Carson and Carole Ruggier.
Kratos as a character – especially in the original games – is perhaps best known for being angry all the time. The character’s rage became a core facet of the series, with the character’s Devil Trigger equivalent literally being called “Rage” in each game.
God of War 20th Anniversary – Cast Reunion Panel | PlayStation – YouTube
During the panel, Santa Monica Studio narrative director Matt Sophos asks Carson how he managed to come up with Kratos’ original voice. “Kratos is T.C. 12.0,” Carson says, adding, “at the time I was very angry; there were a lot of things going on that had me in a real nasty place.”
However, he was thankful for the role, as “Kratos allowed me to do that. He allowed me to be able to vent all of that anger, he allowed me to be able to vent all of that rage, and I think that’s the thing that people resonate with, because it was real.”
Carson continues, noting that “it was like going to therapy, really,” imitating the big sigh of relief he’d do after leaving a session. He adds, “I think it was just the rage inside of me is that voice.”
The actor went on to voice Kratos in the series (as well as in cameos like Mortal Kombat, Everybody’s Golf, and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale) until 2013’s God of War: Ascension, before Christopher Judge took over the role for 2018’s reboot.